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Dauntless Angels
"Burn the Xenos, Crush the Daemon, Flay the Traitor alive! We are the Angels of Death, With fire and steel we fall from the sky! Dauntless is our charge, and Righteous our cause! For we are the Angles of Death, Without mercy, Without pause!"- ''The Mantra of the Dauntless Angels The Dauntless Angels are a 14th founding, mostly Codex compliment, Blood Angels successor Chapter. They are famed for their skill in purging worlds of both Xenos and Heretics with cleansing flame. They have a large arsenal of heat based weapons, from Meltas to Flamers, few foes can withstand this Chapters relentless onslaught of fire and fury that has earned them their namesake. They are also infamous for their vengeful natures, callous disregard for civilian and even allied lives, and some say they fight not for the Emperor, but to watch the foe writhe in agony as they burn. Regardless, this Chapter has a close relationship with Ordo Hereticus and the Ecclesiarchy, and to even attempt to brand this Chapter as traitors is to set oneself up for their own trial of potential heresy. The Dauntless Angels members are fanatically devoted to the Emperor and the Ecclesiarchy, and fully believe in the God Emperors divinity. As a fleet based Chapter, they recruit from various Fraternis Militia and Death Cults across the Imperium. They also have been known to embrace their Red Thirst and partake in extensive blood rituals before and after battle. However, the rate at which Dauntless Angels succumb to the Black Rage is vary small, maybe only one in every hundred battle brothers suffers from this flaw. And the number seems to be decreasing. This may be due to the fact that the Dauntless Angels often vent their rage in violent berserker charges and bloody executions of captured foes. If one were to ask what keeps these misanthropic marines from falling into the Black Rage, they would reply that "There is nothing like a warm fire to cleanse the soul." Though roughly Codex complaint, there are some notable deviations, the Blood Wing Auxiliary is a sizeable force of mortal men albeit of unquestionable faith and bravery, and the Chapter has no scout Company and instead a worthy asperaint is immideatly made a fully fledged Space Marine. History Founding The Dauntless Angels are of the 14th founding, which was meant to bolster Imperial forces in the Galactic East, however the Dauntless Angels go where they please and although the bulk of the Chapter can be found in the Segmentum Ultima, the 9th and 10th Companies can be found in the Segmentum Obscrus and the Maelstrom. (hunting down the traitorous Divine Gargoyles and Hellhounds ) The Pacification of Red Reach This was to be the Dauntless Angels first war fought in the name of the Imperium and a bloody portent of things to come. The people of the mining world of Red Reach had defected to the Tau Empire, which was absolutely unacceptable to the Ecclesiarchy as the planet had provided many raw materials for the construction of various temples across the Sub-Sector. The Dauntless Angels immediately contacted the local Ecclesiarchy forces in the area and coordinated with them, the Space Marines arrived months ahead of the Ecclesiarchy's Liberation Fleet which consisted of millions of Frateris Militia and hundreds of Sisters of Battle. But once they arrived on the planet they found it completely depopulated, not one soul survived the Dauntless Angels brutal judgement. The Dauntless Angels informed the stunned Liberation Fleet that the people of the planet took up arms against the Marines even after their Tau masters had been incinerated and, though they gave them the option of surrender, the people chose oblivion. In reality the whole population had been simply caught in the crossfire, the Dauntless Angels barely considered the people of the planet. The few people who survived were deemed as heretics by the zealous marines and executed for not fighting to the death to defend their world against the Xenos scum in the first place. In spite of all the fire and death however, the Dauntless Angels had ensured that not one temple or shrine was harmed and that the quarrys were intact. The planet was swiftly repopulated and has maintained the status-quo for hundreds of years since. The Ecclesiarchy has been the Chapters close friend ever since and the Tau curse the Dauntless Angels name as savage butchers and murderers. The Hellhounds Early in the Chapters existence, the 9th and 10th Companies had half of their number turn to Chaos, following the Pacification of Red Reach. These Marines had found they rather liked killing just about anything, and that the yoke of the Emperor severely limited what they could and could not butcher alive and screaming. Thus, after three uneventful years of combat, the conspirators rose up and killed much of the 9th and 10th Companies Torchbearers,(save for the few who joined them) and fled with a modest fleet of support craft and nineteen heavy cruisers. These, "Hellhounds" cut a bloody swath towards the Maelstrom, and from the Maelstrom they travelled north-east on a bloodthirsty rampage before finally fleeing into the Eye of Terror. (Space Wolves hot on their heels) Ever since then the 9th and 10th Companies have dedicated themselves to eliminating these mass murdering psychopaths, not for the destruction they wrought but for the havoc they wreaked upon their former brothers. Chapter intelligence states that the Hellhounds is currently split into two warbands, those who decided to stay in relative safety of the Maelstrom, and those who set out for the Eye. The Eastern faction are believed to have embraced the Blood God as their patron, whilst the Western Group (having renaimed themselves 'The Divine Gargoyles') is in the thrall of The Prince of Pleasure. The Purging of Calliope II ''"Ever hear cultists scream when you light them aflame? It is a beautiful noise is it not brother?."- ''Unknown Dauntless Angels Torchbearer The Purging of Calliope II is one of the Chapters greatest achievements and is often regarded as their greatest deed in the Emperors name. It has also made them one of the few things Nurgles followers can say, without any trepidation, they hate with every sickened cell of their being. Calliope II was once a pleasure world of exotic jungles and shallow oceans, that is until a joint force of no less than three Nurglite Warbands descended upon the planet. By the time the Dauntless Angels had arrived the world was long gone, covered in stagnant oceans of acid and plague forests of rot and disease. The Angels were out numbered, but the Nurglites had expected these Marines to consider the thousands of innocent souls that had escaped infection and were being held hostage in various cities. Rather than even attempt to save these people, the Dauntless Angels firebombed the whole planet, after ripping the enemies more numoris but not as heavily armed fleet to shreds. After burning most of the infection off the planet the Marines descended and hunted down the remaining Nurglite forces with the savagery of a starved Ferisian wolf. Not even the infected slaves were spared, all who bore signs of contagion were burned alive and screaming. After every single Plague worshiper was no more than cinders, the Dauntless Angles burned the planet until all that remained of that once beautiful world was magma pools and radioactive glass fields. Weapons and Tactics This Chapter prefers heat based weapons such as Meltas and Flamers, as such they are ideal for dealing with enemy infantry and armoured vehicles. They are also experts on close quarters combat and bloody assaults. So mobile are their forces that they have no Devastators to speak of, instead the Blood Wing Auxiliary that is present in every Company performs the role of Heavy weapons and defensive troops. (the Blood Wing also acts as shock troops and general support, in the hopes that one day they will be accepted into the Trials and become a Space Marine) However, in spite of the speed at which the Dauntless Angels advance they still make time for their highly respected Furioso-Pattern and unique Immolater-Pattern Dreadnoughts. They have an unusually high number of these rare metal warriors and they are present in almost every large scale engagement the Chapter takes place in. The Chapter is also noted for a love of Chain Axes, something that is disturbing to some chapters as it hearkens back to the berserker warriors of the World Eaters. They are absolutely brutal fighters, either lighting the foe aflame or ripping them apart with their Chain Axes. And will press a charge without faltering. It is known that not one Dauntless Angel charge in the Chapters history has ever been driven back, and this fact can terrify most foes as they see these gold and red clad marines rush to meet them, Meltas and Axes at the ready. Chapter Fleet The Dauntless Angels, as a fleet based Chapter, maintain a fairly large fleet, with three battle barges and a whole slew of Heavy Cruisers and nearly a swarm of smaller support ships and fighter craft. However, this impressive armada is spread throughout the Galactic East, as the Chapter itself is thinly spread on various missions form Ordo Hecticus and Xenos as well as the High-Lords and Ecclesiarchy, not to mention the Chapters own personal vendettas. It is only during the Gathering, once every hundred years, that the whole of the fleet unites in one place, usually over the Shrine World known as Abbat. The fleet will also unite for a particularly large campaign, though this is usually on such short notice that the whole of the Chapter can rarely make it in any organized fashion. There are a few vessels of note worthy importance: '''The Hellbringer- '''The Hellbringer is a formidable vessel and the Fortress-Monastery of the Chapter, it has burned countless worlds in the Emperors name and decimated both alien and heretic fleets alike. It bears many scars from millennia of proud service. It has a unique room deep at its very centre called the Hall of Glory, where all the Chapters priceless relics and dead lay. Directly below the Hall of Glory, a large area full of cells that rests for the few Battle Brothers who make up the Death Company. '''The Bloodborn- '''The Bloodborn is the Dauntless Angels 2nd Battle Barge and famed for its massive cash of Exerminatus weapons and for the sheer ruthlessness of its Capitan, Calix Kainus, leader of the 2nd Company. '''The Sinner's Nightmare- '''The Sinner's Nightmare is the Chapters 3rd Battle Barge and most decorated vessels, when the 3rd and 4th Companies were lost to the Warp for two hundred years, this ship was presumed long gone. But the vessel resurfaced and its crew had far from turned from the Emperors Light. (However, rumours persist that the Chapter stole rare pure Gene-Seed from World Eaters Chaos Marines in order to bolster their numbers beyond Codex regulations as the crews size seemed to be rather the same as when the ship disappeared.) Chapter Culture The Dauntless Angels are a very violent Chapter, embracing their blood lust and natural wrath in ways that have seen them shunned by their fellow Blood Angels successors and the Blood Angels themselves. But the Dauntless Angels welcome this, as they see the parent Chapter as weak willed to try and fight the "gifts" that have been bestowed upon them. Such bloodlust is surely a gift in their eyes, as it makes them better fighters. The Black Rage is considered the greatest blessing of all, as one Marine of the Death Company is worth five of his "sane" brothers in the heat of battle. Though these disturbing views would usually see them liquidated, the Chapters zealous devotion to the Ecclesiarchy and Ordo Hereticus has been its armour against such accusations, for the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition is loath to let such a valuable asset as a Space Marine Chapter be erased without "substantial proof" of heresy. This Chapters disregard for human life has made them the bane of more merciful Chapters, most notably the Equalizers and Salamanders. The Dauntless Angels in return see Chapters that would abandon victory for a few "mortal lives" as weak and deserving of extinction. As such there are many Chapters that hate the Dauntless Angels to their core, but those Chapters vocal of such hatred often become marked as "Excomunicate Tratoris" and find themselves hunted by the Angels with the Ecclesiarchy's blessing. The Dauntless Angels hold most Imperial Guard Regiments in even greater contempt than their Space Marine brothers, seeing the Guard as little more than a buffer that they can exploit and no more. Indeed, tales of this Chapters Marines using Guardsmen as bait for enemy forces is not unheard of. However, the Death Korps of Kreig and Maccaban Janessaries have this Chapters hard earned and dubious respect. This Chapter also respects the Militant forces of the Ecclesiarchy, and believe the frenzied mobs of the Fraternis Militia as the finest specimens of human kind. For these men charge into battle, often with home made weapons and faith their only form of armour. As such they are viewed as ideal recruits and the Blood Wing Auxiliary, who are all the best young men of the Frateris Militia the Ecclesiarchy can offer, and the main pool the Chapter recruits from. The Sisters of Battle are also deeply respected by this Chapter, and they will take any opportunity to fight alongside these brave warriors. In many ways they see the Sisters of Battle as the greatest example of humanities faith and skill. (aside from themselves of course) Young Death Cultists are also seen as perfect asperiants as they are often already well versed in all forms of combat. Death Cultists also are the most likely to pass the Trials, with an average 69% surviving to become Space Marines. This Chapters love of fire is a cultural aspect that most likely developed over time as the Chapter recruited from crazed Fraternis Millitia, as many Militia men believe fire to be the ultimate tool in ridding the Galaxy of heretics and xenos scum. This may also be due to the Chapters various fire-related Gene-Seed mutations, though these are mostly found in the Chapters Librarians (or as the chapter refers to them Torchbearers) and the various fire related powers the Torchbearers seem capable of. Torchbearers play the role of both Chaplin and Librarian, as their innate pyromancing abilities are viewed by the Chapter as a sign that the Emperor has blessed these individuals with a spark of his own righteous fury. And woe to the foe who comes across the Chapters signature Immolator-Pattern Dreadnoughts, who are the greatest Torchbearers who have been given a second chance to burn in the God Emperors name. The Chapter almost exclusively uses Chain Axes as their melee weapon of choice. They do this in part of the simple weapons famed killing power, but also to unnerve their "weakling" brothers, as they have taken note that almost any Chapter they come across are deeply disturbed by Chain Axes as they remind most of the deadly World Eaters. And when reminded of World Eaters, one thinks of how readily those berserker turn on their "allies". The Trials The Trials are the initiation training and rites any aspirant must undergo before becoming a fully fledged Space Marine. This hellish training is by far the most bloody initiation ceremony any Chapter has ever employed. It begins with months, sometimes years of vicious pit fights between aspirants. Those who survive move on the the torture tests, which involve gruesome tasks such as swimming though lakes of boiling blood and fighting exotic predators to the death with nothing more but bare hands. Then it moves to the "Bleeding Passage" where the would be astartes has to navigate a maze of blades and flamethrowers that runs on for at least a mile. If he succeeds, his final trial will seem like an easy one, kill a Chapter Serf in one on one combat. This final stage is often where aspirants meet their end, as Chapter Serfs are among the deadliest mortal fighters in the Galaxy, and the ones the Dauntless Angels aspirants must combat are trained for this ritual battle.Those skilled few who emerge victorious from their final trial get their reward of gene-seed, after they drink the blood of the Serf. Death Company ''"I am Death! I am Flame! I AM THE EMPERORS VENGEANCE!"-'' Famous Dauntless Angels Death Company Marine, Fegus Dagaun Like all Blood Angels successors, the Dauntless Angels maintain a Death Company, though it is smaller than most it is no less a force to be reckoned with. They are psychotic warriors, known to tear Orks in half with their dual Chain Axes and strangle Traitor Marines with their bear hands. They are also armed with wrist mounted flamers, and they take great relish in burning their foe alive. Blood Wing Auxiliary ''"You will all most certainly die, but know that in your death you have sealed the fate of countless more traitors and heathens. In death you will find peace and glory that even we, the Sons of the Emperor, will have to wait countless aeons to enjoy."- ''Chapter Master Nero Fertide, addressing the 12th Blood Wing Auxiliary before they charge into the waiting guns of Iron Warriors during the Siege of Connor. The Blood Wing Auxiliary is the Ecclesiarchys gift to the Dauntless Angels, an army made up of the best young warriors of the Imperium's collective Fraternis Militia. The Frateris Militias zealous warriors are often poorly trained and armed but the Blood Wing Auxiliary is well armed if still sub-par in discipline. They are often used as general support by the Chapter and are also responsible for most menial tasks both on and off the field of battle. They are often armed with most of the Chapters Heavy weapons and led by Space Marine Sargents, acting in the same role as a Space Marine Devastator would. They are also at the very front of most charges and are used as either support, distraction, or living shields. Regardless of how their often callous commanders use them the Blood Wing is more than happy to comply, for they see even the lowly scouts of the Dauntless Angels as divine sons of the Emperor Himself. If a Auxiliary fighter dose well enough and has shown exceptional skill, he is accepted into the trials, where he will most likely die during the training. But, if he succeeds he will become a holy instrument of the Emperors divine will, a fate that few Militia men could scarcely dream of. Gene-Seed Mutations ''"Oi Fleeshsik, ya know wat I 'erd bout dem Dauntless Ajill gitz? Dey can light stuff on fire! Just by staring!" "Wot a crock! Ain't no umie who can do da- AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!"- ''Fleeshsik's final words to his comrade Trukk-Scar, before being lit on fire by a Dauntless Angels Torchbearer. Though the Chapter is surprisingly pure for such a late founding Chapter, they do have some inherent flaws. '''Blood Rage- '''A semi-sane state all Dauntless Angels can enter, like many Blood Angels successors they can harness the inherent wrath that all sons of Sanguinis feel. But the Dauntless Angels, "Blood Rage" is a terrifying alteration of that ability, rather than simply become more aggressive, in extreme cases Dauntless Angels become almost animalistic. They throw themselves at the foe, sometimes even throwing their melee weapons aside so they can rend the foe apart with their bear hands. What is even more disturbing is the total control the Dauntless Angels have over this psychopathic urge. As they can fly into these rages at any time on a whim, and can just as quickly return to perfect clarity in seconds. Though this means that they willingly embrace such fury, and as such are completely shunned by their fellow Blood Angel successors as savages, the fact that they can so easily return from this state has stayed the Inquisitions hand. Though this ability, when used at the right time, can turn the tide of battle, it has also lead to the demise of many of the Chapters youngest members who often use it at improper times. (such as assaulting a heavily defended bunker) '''Hateful Inferno'- When the Torchbearers of this Chapter engage in hand to hand combat they have the ability to wreath themselves in holy fire, making them much more deadly. They can also wreath their battle-brothers in fire as well without any harm coming to them. Though this ability almost led to the Chapters liquidation, close investigation of the Chapters Gene-Seed found no Chaotic taint behind this power. (it was the plea of the Ecclesiarch himself that stayed the hands of the Inquisition) 'Gaze of Spite-' All Dauntless Angels can, with enough concentration, cause anything within their field of vision to spontaneously combust. Though for the average battle brother the time and focus necessary makes the ability useless in combat, the Torchbearers can use this ability practically in the field of battle. However, the Angels focus must be absolute, and only the most skilled Torchbearers or the Chapter Master can draw on such a power against multiple foes. 'The Emperor Protects- '''Thanks to various mutations within the Black Carapace gene-seed organ, Dauntless Angels are almost fire proof. This makes their heavy use of heat based weapons less hazardous, it also means that Dauntless Angels can continue fighting in blazing infernos that would cook a normal marine alive in his armour, survive glancing Melta blast, and even wade through gouts of Flamer fire. Legends among the Guard tell tales of these Marines being able to wade through lava and fight on the surface of a sun. (though the latter is most likely hyperbole) Deathwatch Service The Dauntless Angels firey hatred of Xenos makes them ideal cantidates for the Long Watch, however their less than subtle methods and malevolent demanor makes them very ill suited to a team made of other Astaretes. Regardless they are excellent additions to any Kill-Team as their unflinching hatred and relentless drive to crush the Alien make them the fighting spirit of a Kill-Team. Heros ''"You preach of love...Love is weakness...Love is nothing...The strength of the faithful stems from Hate."- Nero Fertide before decapitating the Great Unclean One known as Ohgoom the Unpurgeable Nero Fertide Nero Fertide has been the Dauntless Angels Chapter Master since the Chapters founding and has been the terror of both heretics and xenos since he was but a lowly Blood Angels Scout Marine. As he rose through the ranks, he began to unnerve some of his fellow Blood Angels due to his sheer ruthlessness and total disregard for the lives of those he fought alongside and the very people he was sworn to protect. When the Dauntless Angels were formed, Nero seized the chance to lead this Chapter with all of his trademark will, he would create a Chapter of true warriors, not the weaklings whom he had been forced to fight alongside for so long. Since then he has seen Empires rise and fall by his own hand, and burned countless worlds in the name of the Emperor. His greatest feat of faith was when he faced the Greater Daemon of Nurgal, known as Oghoom the Unpurgable, in single combat within the dank swamps of the Plauge World known as Molis. He fought the monster with nothing more but his chainsword, the battle was the likes of which no Marine of his new Chapter had ever seen. Nero carved great swaths of dead flesh from the daemon, and the beast laughed at this mere mortals attempts on its immortal life. When Oghoom's corrupted blade tore Neros chainsword asunder and stood their gloating in victory..something within Nero ignited..at first the astartes thought he was falling to the Black Rage, a fate he welcomed if it would mean the end of this foul being. But as Nero embraced his rage, his body suddenly burst into flames, now he was wreathed in what his men could only describe as holy flames sparked from the Emperors own wrath. He took up the chain of his ruined chainsword and in his hands it too burst into holy fire, with this and new-found rage he lashed out at Oghoom, ripping the Daemon limb from limb. But Oghoom, even in its death throes, mocked the Space Marine, Nero silenced the wretch when he garroted it with the flaming chains, ripping its head from its body. With the Daemon vanquished, Nero had not only earned his place as Chapter Master, but had also become the Dauntless Angels first Torchbearer, and gained the weapon he would use from that day on...The Emperors Vengeance, a chainwhip kept buring by Nero's hatred towards all things that dare oppose the Emperor. Relations Notable Conflicts Quotes About Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Blood Angels Successors Category:24th Founding